ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers
In early 2014, Sanjay Swamy and Valerie Rozycki Wagoner, respectively chairman and CEO of ZipDial, were discussing the possibility of extending the company's operations to Indonesia and the Philippines, two key markets in Southeast Asia. Having successfully rolled out ZipDial solutions in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka - from their primary market in India - they planned to accelerate expansion into selected markets in the region. Through its proprietary technology platform, ZipDial enabled brands in emerging markets to create, track and manage mobile marketing campaigns, engaging hundreds of millions of consumers who were otherwise unconnected. Building on its user database, the company created engagement opportunities based on user profiles that marketers could leverage to deliver targeted advertising messages. Although poised to take advantage of the continued growth in mobile adoption, the company faced a number of challenges. At a time when India's mobile technology landscape had started to consolidate and new competitors had entered the mobile advertising market, the need to find new sources of financing to support its operations and expansion plans was becoming more pressing. The case traces the evolution of ZipDial since its inception in 2010 as India's first mobile marketing and analytics company. It offers an overview of the latest developments and current strategy, including its approach to bridging the offline-online world through innovative marketing solutions and partnerships with social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
Swot Analysis of "ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers" written by Jesper Sorensen, Laurent De Clara includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Zipdial Mobile facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Business models, Disruptive innovation, Emerging markets, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Technology and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Zipdial Mobile, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Zipdial Mobile operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Zipdial Mobile
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Zipdial Mobile
Strengths ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Zipdial Mobile in ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Zipdial Mobile in the sector have low bargaining power. ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Zipdial Mobile to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Zipdial Mobile to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Zipdial Mobile to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Zipdial Mobile is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Zipdial Mobile is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Zipdial Mobile is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Jesper Sorensen, Laurent De Clara can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Diverse revenue streams
– Zipdial Mobile is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Organizational Resilience of Zipdial Mobile
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Zipdial Mobile does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Zipdial Mobile has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Zipdial Mobile to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Zipdial Mobile is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Zipdial Mobile is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Zipdial Mobile is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Zipdial Mobile has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Zipdial Mobile has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Weaknesses ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Zipdial Mobile products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Zipdial Mobile needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Zipdial Mobile 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Zipdial Mobile needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Zipdial Mobile supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Zipdial Mobile vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers HBR case study mentions - Zipdial Mobile takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Need for greater diversity
– Zipdial Mobile has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Zipdial Mobile has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Zipdial Mobile is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jesper Sorensen, Laurent De Clara suggests that, Zipdial Mobile is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Zipdial Mobile, firm in the HBR case study ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Zipdial Mobile to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Zipdial Mobile to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Zipdial Mobile has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Zipdial Mobile to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers case study. Zipdial Mobile can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Zipdial Mobile can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Zipdial Mobile to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Zipdial Mobile to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Zipdial Mobile has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Zipdial Mobile to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Zipdial Mobile can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Zipdial Mobile can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Zipdial Mobile operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Zipdial Mobile can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Zipdial Mobile can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Zipdial Mobile can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Zipdial Mobile in the consumer business. Now Zipdial Mobile can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Zipdial Mobile to increase its market reach. Zipdial Mobile will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Threats ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Zipdial Mobile can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Zipdial Mobile is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Zipdial Mobile needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Zipdial Mobile
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Zipdial Mobile.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Zipdial Mobile high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Zipdial Mobile with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Zipdial Mobile needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Zipdial Mobile needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Zipdial Mobile can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Zipdial Mobile in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Zipdial Mobile can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers .
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Zipdial Mobile can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of ZipDial: Reaching The Next 3 Billion Consumers is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Zipdial Mobile needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
